Glider pilot loves to share the experience

Valorie Reis has a long drive to work every day, from Alewa Heights to Mokuleia, and that can be a problem in this era of $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Name: Valorie Ries Title: Glider pilot Job: Takes people for rides in gliders above the North Shore

But Reis is consoled by the fact that she really likes her job, which is taking people up for glider rides above Oahu's beautiful North Shore.

Reis has been a glider pilot for The Original Glider Rides based at Dillingham Airfield since last October, shortly after she met one of the company's two owners, Steve "Woody" Wood, at a Hawaii Aviation Association meeting.

Reis already had been working toward various pilot certifications at Flight School Hawaii, and Wood suggested that joining his company would be a way for her to obtain certification as a flight instructor for gliders.

At Original Glider Rides, Reis takes passengers into the skies above Mokuleia as many as a dozen or so times a day, on flights ranging from 10 minutes to an hour each. When she's not up in the air, Reis helps with administrative and maintenance work.

Reis also works part time at the Shack Sports Bar & Grill in Hawaii Kai.

"That's how I paid for my flight training," she said last week.

"I still work there a couple of days a week." she added. "In fact, they asked me to help them open the new one in Waikiki, because I've been there (at the Shack) for five years and I kind of know my way around.

Reis, 25, is a graduate of Effingham High School in Effingham, Ill., and of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

Reis said she moved to Hawaii in 2002 to be near her sister, Kalei Reis, who lives in Waimanalo.

Mark Coleman: How long have you been a glider pilot for Original Glider Rides?

Valorie Reis: For almost a year now.

Q: What were you doing before you joined the company?

A: I was going to Flight School Hawaii. I was working on all my ratings over there.

Q: What are ratings?

A: Ratings are for, like, a single-engine plane -- land and sea; a multi-engine plane -- land; and instruments, which means I can fly in the clouds, so I'm instrument-rated.

Q: How did you become a glider pilot?

A: Well, I was getting all the ratings at Flight School Hawaii, then I went to a Hawaii Pilots Association meeting and I met Woody (Steve Wood), one of the owners of Original Gliders. And he just said, "Why don't you come out and start flying and see if you like it," and then maybe they would help me out with getting my rating and then I could work for them afterward.

They're really a great company -- really nice owners (Wood and Bill Star) -- probably the best owners I've ever worked for, because at a lot of flight schools, if you get their rating there, you can work there, but here they actually helped out with the cost, like the cost of the aircraft and the tows. They do that for a lot of people, actually. They're very generous.

Q: It costs money to get your ratings?

A: Correct, for any kind of rating you get, and they helped me with that. When you're working with the company, you can further your training. Like they do aerobatics, too, so when I' m working with the company, I get to train in aerobatics.

Q: What kind of training did you have to go through to get this job?

A: I already had my commercial for a single-engine, and then I just added on my commercial glider.

Q: Were you a commercial pilot before?

A: No. Actually, this is my first commercial job. Commercial just means you can get paid.

Q: How many glider planes does Original Gliders own?

A: We have five different gliders working on the line. Two are trainer types, two are passenger types and one is the acrobatic. The passenger gliders are Schweizer 232s. They are the only glider aircraft that can hold two people in the back.

Q: How many pilots are there?

A: Two glider pilots per day, and a single tow-plane pilot.

Q: Do you ever fly the tow-plane?

A: Not yet, because I don't have my tail wheel. That's my goal, to get my tail wheel.

Q: What's that?

A: You know, like a Cessna has a nose wheel, and two mains right behind it?

Q: I guess.

A: Well, the tail wheel has that wheel on the tail, instead of the nose.

Q: Why is that a concern to you.

A: You have to have an endorsement to fly that kind of craft, but it's only a couple of hours to get it.

Q: But you do know how to fly airplanes with engines, right?

A: Correct.

Q: Do you think engine planes are easier to fly than gliders?

A: It's just a different type of flying. It's more your basic stick-and-rudder for the glider. And you don't have avionics in the glider, so you have to pay more attention with your eyes for the traffic. There's no one telling you from the tower what's going on. It's all on you. But then it always is.

Q: Which do you prefer to fly, the glider or the airplane?

A: They're different. I like flying everything. (Laughter)

The glider is the most birdlike aircraft I've ever flown. And they're quiet. It's peaceful, very peaceful. But the engine aircraft are fun, because I can fly to other islands, so that's fun.

Q: Is Dillingham Airfield the only place from which the glider flights are conducted?

A: Correct.

Q: What are your working hours?

A: I work a couple days a week as a line pilot. And on other days I work on the schedules, and I'm also working on my CFI-G -- certified flight instructor-glider.

Q: How many flights do you make each day?

A: Anywhere between five and 14. I think 14 was the most I ever did.

Q: How high up do you go and how long does each flight last?

A: Well it depends on the conditions that day. Like, if we have tradewinds, then we can get up to anywhere between 800 and a thousand feet. That's where we'll release from the tow plane and then we'll gain altitude just by the tradewinds hitting the ridge -- it's called ridge lift. Or we can thermal -- that's where the land heats up and the air will rise. But in the winter when it's cooler, and we have Kona winds, we'll just tow higher, like to 5,000 feet.

Q: And then you just ...

...A: Then you just kind of glide down. Our ride, the amount of time, is totally on the customer, whatever they want to do. They can do anywhere from 10 minutes for a ride to an hour.

Q: But it costs more, obviously.

A: Yeah. We also have rides where you can sit in the front seat and fly it.

Q: But what about you?

A: Then I sit in the back. (Laughter) We have a different setup. We have a different stick that we put in the back seat. The rudders are always back there. The stick is removable.

Q: How many passengers do you take up each time?

A: From one to two. But with the stick rides, there can only be one person. And the aerobatic ride, there can only be one person.

Q: You mean those gliders can do loops and things?

A: Correct. We do loops, barrel rolls, clover leafs, hammerheads, fly inverted -- that's just a couple of the maneuvers we'll do.

Q: Are you like a tour guide up there, or do you just keep quiet and let the passengers do the talking, if any?

A: Usually I feed off the passengers. If they're the talkative type and seem interested in the area, then I'll give the spiel.

Q: The area?

A: Yeah, like the North Shore. But if they're quiet and just enjoying the serenity of the air, then I'll let 'em be.

Q: What is the typical flight path of the gliders?

A: We'll go up along the ridge and release, then we usually head out toward Kaena Point. Then we'll do a nice little turn, show 'em Camp Erdman. And if there's whales, we'll look for the whales. And then, since we'll be heading back, I'll tell them about the North Shore, everything from Turtle Bay to Kaena Point. And on a really good day we'll go up towards Mount Kaala, which is really high -- 4,200 feet. It just depends on the amount of time, and what do they want. If they want to go over the water, we'll go over the water. Pretty much it's up to them, as long as it doesn't affect safety.

Q: Do you take along a parachute?

A: Only on the aerobatics. The aerobatics is regulated by the FAA, so it's required.

Q: Why not the rest of the time?

A: The glider is a super safe aircraft. You don't have to worry about a fire, or losing fuel, or your engine quitting -- because you don't have an engine. (Laughter) So you just stay within gliding distance of the airport.

Q: Are there ever any days when the company declines to conduct flights, like because of bad weather or something?

A: Yeah, there are -- when the clouds are too low, or when we have south winds, because the south winds create turbulence over the mountains, and a lot of sink, where you get pushed down a lot. So it's not too much fun for the customer. But that's very few days. Maybe a handful of days out of the year.

Q: When you're not in the air, what other responsibilities go along with your job?

A: We replace tie-downs, like we have to tie down the aircraft. We have to clean the aircraft; we'll wash them in the mornings. We have a pilot locker that we're responsible for making sure everything is stocked. Also, sometimes there's a lot of rocks on the loading area, where we load the passengers, so we'll have to sweep away the rocks.

Q: What kind of maintenance does a glider need?

A: Every hundred hours it has to be inspected, and then it has to have an annual inspection?

Q: What are they looking for?

A: Make sure all the controls are working right, take off the wings to inspect. But, of course, every morning we do a preflight (exam). We walk around, check every surface, check the controls, check the brakes.

Q: What's your favorite part of the job?

A: I like meeting new people, and giving somebody their first glider ride. That's pretty fun. -- especially when they're scared at first, and then they go up and it's like "Whoa," and then they're all happy. That's always fun. And the aerobatics. That's fun, too.

Q: Is there anything you don't like about your job?

A: The only thing is that I wished I lived closer. I live in town, but it's nice to get out to the North Shore. If gas was cheaper, it wouldn't be such a big deal.

Q: How long do you intend to be a glider pilot?

A: As long as they'll have me. I really enjoy the job, I really enjoy general aviation, so I'm assuming that as long as I'm here on the island, I'll definitely work out there.